We all have our good days and our… not-so-good days. You should never lose sight of what you’re chasing, so something that has always worked for me, and still does, is this: when my spirits are low and everything seems to be going wrong, I go back and reread the quotes and proverbs that once motivated me, got me out of my chair and sent me out to “take on the world”. Today I’m sharing them with you, hoping they help you and give you the encouragement they once gave me.
1. Life can only be understood by looking back, but it can only be lived by looking forward.
— Anonymous
2. Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure.
— Anonymous
3. Falling is allowed; getting back up is mandatory.
— Russian proverb
4. A wise man may make the mistake of sitting on an anthill, but only a fool stays sitting on it.
— Chinese proverb
5. A race isn’t always won by the fastest runner, but by the one who keeps on running.
— Anonymous
6. The sea is so vast, immense and powerful because it had the humility to place itself a few centimetres below the rivers, and it discovered that it could be great by learning to receive.
— Patricia Hashuel
7. Whoever thinks “this is enough for me” will always have enough.
— Lao Tzu
8. Only those who know how to stay awake when the time comes are able to make their dreams come true.
— León Daudí
9. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
— William Jennings Bryan
10. Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
— Martin Luther King Jr.
11. Work frees us from three great evils: boredom, vice and poverty.
— Anonymous
12. I’d rather be the worst of the best than the best of the worst.
— Anonymous
13. Don’t waste energy thinking about problems; put that energy into focusing on the solution.
— Anonymous
14. If a problem has a solution, it isn’t a problem: look for the solution. If a problem has no solution, it isn’t a problem either: it’s something you have to accept.
— A.C.
15. Before you set out to change the world, walk three times around your own house.
— Chinese proverb
All of these quotes and proverbs can be summed up in a single idea:
Every success begins with an attempt. An attempt can lead you to success or to failure. Success is never guaranteed, but failure is certain if you never try. Apathy will never pull you out of failure.
Further reading
- The 12 best quotes from the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett
- Donald Trump and the mindset of an entrepreneur
- Steve Jobs’s early days and the birth of Apple
Featured image: Nicolas Raymond, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
